The present invention relates to coin hopper payout mechanisms, and more particularly those which utilize a coin feeding wheel and knife mechanism.
A wide variety of devices are arranged to dispense to a user of the device one or more coins. Exemplary of such devices are gaming machines. These machines are often arranged to pay winnings to a player in the form of one or more coins.
The purpose of providing such a machine with a coin paying mechanism is to automate the machine. With respect to a gaming machine, this automation reduces the cost associated with operating the game, such as by reducing the number of persons needed to operate the game. The automation has the added advantage to the player that the player is immediately paid winnings. The success of this automation is tied to the reliability of the coin paying mechanism. If the coin paying mechanism is not reliable, the game will be inoperable. When the game is inoperable, players can not play it and the gaming operator loses revenue. In addition, the gaming operator must spend money servicing the game.
Present coin paying mechanisms suffer from reliability problems arising from coin jams. During the coin feeding process, one or more coins become jammed in the feeding mechanism. This delays payment to the player, makes tracking correct payouts difficult, and necessitates servicing of the gaming machine.
FIG. 1 illustrates an arrangement of a coin feeding mechanism of the prior art. The coin feeding mechanism 20 comprises a pinwheel 22 and a shelfwheel 24 arranged to rotate with one another with respect to a support 26. The pinwheel 22 comprises a circular disk having a plurality of pins 28 extending outwardly from a front face thereof. The spacing of the pins 28 and their distance from the shelfwheel 24 is dependent upon the size of the coin which is to be fed.
The shelfwheel 24 also comprises a circular disk. The shelfwheel 24 is mounted at a front face of the pinwheel 22. The shelfwheel 24 has a perimeter which defines a ledge 30 upon which coins rest. The pinwheel 22 and shelfwheel 24 are arranged to rotate with one another in a counter-clockwise direction. Generally, the pinwheel 22 and shelfwheel 24 are mounted to a drive shaft which is driven by an electric motor.
A knife 32 is provided for removing coins from the shelfwheel 24. The knife 32 rests upon or is positioned very close to the peripheral edge of the shelfwheel 24, and has a surface which directs the coins from the shelfwheel 24 to a coin deliver chute or other coin delivery pathway.
As illustrated, the pinwheel 22 and shelfwheel 24 are concentric. That is, the axis about which both the pinwheel 22 and shelfwheel 24 rotate is the same. In this arrangement, the distance between the perimeter ledge 30 of the shelfwheel 24 and the pins 28 of the pinwheel 22 is constant about the circumference of the pinwheel 22.
Operation of the prior art coin feeder mechanism is as follows. Coins 34 in a hopper (not shown) are picked up by the feeder mechanism at the lower portion thereof. In particular, coins 34 are caught by the passing pins 28 as they pass through the coins in the hopper. The pins 28 are positioned such that one coin 34 will fit between each pair of pins 28.
The pins 28 and shelfwheel 24 support the coins as they move counter-clockwise. Once the coins 34 reach the top of the mechanism, they are removed from the shelfwheel 24 by the knife 32. The coins are then directed as desired along a coin dispensing pathway.
There are several problems associated with such a prior art coin feeding mechanism. First, the mechanism is not extremely efficient in picking up the coins from the hopper. In other words, in some instances, the space between pairs of pins 28 is not filled with a coin 32 as the mechanism rotates. Because a portion of the spaces are empty, the time necessary to dispense a given number of coins is increased. When the number of coins to be dispensed is large, this slows the operation of the machine, and thus lessens the time a player is gambling, in the case of a gaming machine.
More significantly, the coin feeding mechanism is prone to jams. As the coins move from the shelfwheel 24 to the knife 32, they often become stuck, stopping the rotation of the pinwheel 22 and shelfwheel 24. The machine must then be serviced in order to place it back in operation.
An improved coin feeder mechanism for a coin hopper which overcomes the above-stated problems is desired.
The present invention is a coin feeder mechanism for transporting coins from a coin hopper. The coin feeder mechanism is arranged to improve coin pick up from the hopper and reduce the probability of coin jamming at delivery.
In one embodiment, the coin feeder mechanism includes a shelfwheel having a peripheral edge, a pinwheel having a front face and a peripheral edge, and a plurality of pins extending from the front face of the pinwheel between the peripheral edge of the pinwheel and the peripheral edge of the shelfwheel. The pinwheel is rotatably mounted with respect to the shelfwheel and positioned adjacent thereto. The shelfwheel has a coin pick-up area and a coin delivery area. The peripheral edge of the shelfwheel at the coin pick-up area is farther away from pins associated with the pinwheel in that area than is the peripheral edge of the shelfwheel to pins associated with the pinwheel at the coin delivery area.
In a preferred embodiment, the arrangement of the shelfwheel with respect to the pins of the pinwheel comprises mounting the shelfwheel in an offset arrangement with respect to the pinwheel. In one embodiment, the pinwheel and shelfwheel are generally circular, with the center of the shelfwheel offset vertically upward from the center of the pinwheel.
In one embodiment, the pinwheel is mounted on a drive shaft which is rotated. The shelfwheel is mounted stationary on the drive shaft with a bearing. The shelfwheel includes a mounting arm connected to a support structure of the mechanism for maintaining the shelfwheel fixed in position as the drive shaft is rotated.
The coin feeder mechanism includes a knife having a portion which engages the shelfwheel. The knife directs coins from the shelfwheel to another location as they are fed from the coin hopper. In one embodiment, the knife is integrally formed with the shelfwheel.
In accordance with the invention, when a pin engages a coin at the pick-up area, the pin is positioned with respect to the shelfwheel such that the pin engages the coin in a manner in which the coin is both lifted upwardly and moved horizontally. As the coin is transported around the shelfwheel by the pin on the pinwheel, the position of the pin with respect to the coin is such that the pin serves to cradle the coin and maintain it in position. At the point where the coin is delivered from the shelfwheel, the position of the pin with respect to the coin is such that the pin acts to push the coin out of contact with the shelfwheel, and not downwardly, lessening the probability of coin jamming.
Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention over the prior art will become apparent from the detailed description of the drawings which follows, when considered with the attached figures.